Canon Vixia HV40

Low Light Sensitivity (5.62)

The Canon HV40 has a similarly-sized CMOS sensor to the Canon HF S100 (and the rest of the Canon HF S series), but it has a far smaller pixel count. We guessed that this should result in better low light sensitivity for the HV40, and our tests confirmed this hypothesis. The HV40 required only 12 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor—less than the 16 lux required on the Canon HF S100. This is likely a result of the pixels being less dense on the Canon HV40’s sensor. That allows the sensor to absorb more light, hence improving the low light sensitivity of the camcorder. More on how we test low light sensitivity.

Based on what most HD camcorders are scoring in our low light sensitivity test, the HV40’s result of 12 lux is actually quite good. Only Panasonic (the HDC-TM300 and HDC-HS300) and Sanyo (the VPC-HD2000) did better than the HV40 on this test. When using the HV40’s alternate frame rates, the camcorder was capable of even better low light sensitivity. In 30p mode the HV40 required 6 lux to reach 50 IRE and in 24p mode the camcorder needed just 5 lux. The camcorder’s sensitivity was the same in 24p mode whether we used the native progressive or the non-native 24p setting.

Low Light Noise (8.10)

The HV40’s low light noise measurements were slightly higher than the Canon HF S100, although the two camcorders had very similar numbers (1.5325% on the HV40 vs. 1.3525% on the HF S100). These are both good noise scores for low light, but the Panasonic HDC-TM300 and Sony HDR-XR520V were a bit better. The crops below give you a better idea of how much of this noise is actually noticeable in the footage. More on how we test low light noise.

Canon Vixia HV40 Low Light Noise Comparisons
Canon Vixia HV40 100% Crop	Canon Vixia HF S100 100% Crop Panasonic HDC-TM300 100% Crop Sony HDR-XR520V 100% Crop More...

In the images above, you can definitely see more noise on the two Canon models than you can on the Panasonic and Sony. Artifacting is also present on all the camcorders in low light, although the Sony and Panasonic look a bit cleaner than the two Canon models. As far as sharpness goes, you can see that each image has lost some of its detail that it had in bright light, but they all retain a good level of sharpness. All of these camcorders are better-than-average low light performers, but the Panasonic HDC-TM300 is the best of the bunch.

Unlike with low light color accuracy, the Canon HV40 did show improved noise results when shooting with its 30p and 24p frame rates. When using the native-progressive 24p mode the HV40 averaged 1.4675% noise, and the camcorder registered 1.275% noise in its 30p mode. These aren’t huge drops from the HV40’s noise levels when recording at 60i, but they are slight improvements.

Low Light Color (6.92)

The Canon HV40 didn’t have great color accuracy in low light, but its results were about average for a camcorder of its class. What the HV40 did have was deep, vivid colors in low light—a testament to the 74.9% saturation we measured in our low light test. The Canon HV40 registered a color error of 5.3. More on how we test low light color.

Low Light Color Accuracy Performance
	Color Error Map
	The map on the left is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video. The Canon Vixia HV40 produced a color error of and a saturation level of in our bright light color testing.

At 60 lux, which is the light level for our low light testing, the Canon HV40 produced a dark image. Most camcorders produce a dark image at 60 lux, but the HV40’s was a bit darker than the Canon HF S100, and significantly darker than both the Panasonic HDC-TM300 and the Sony HDR-XR520V. The exposure levels on the HV40 can be manually altered, however, by simply adjusting the overall exposure setting or changing the aperture and shutter speed. In the comparisons below, check out how much more color the HV40 retained than its competitors—including the Canon HF S100, which had a much lower saturation level (58.01%).

The Canon HV40 actually had worse color accuracy in low light when using its 24p and 30p modes: the camcorder had a color error of 5.8 when recording at 30p, and an error of 6.09 when using its native-progressive 24p mode. Usually we see better color accuracy with alternate frame rates because they help the camcorder produce a brighter image in low light, but accuracy was not the result with the HV40.